Former chancellor Lord Philip Hammond has warned that Boris Johnson’s alleged plan to hike National Insurance contributions to pay for social care would cause the Conservative Party “significant damage”, as a furious row threatens to emerge over what would be manifesto-breaking proposals.
In an indication of the outrage among “many dozens” of Tory MPs ahead of parliament’s return on Monday, an anonymous Cabinet minister was quoted as attacking an increase as “morally, economically and politically wrong”, pointing to the hardships of the Covid crisis when adding: “They can’t seriously be thinking about a tax raid on supermarket workers and nurses so the children of Surrey homeowners can receive bigger inheritances.”
Meanwhile, Nicola Sturgeon has suggested that anyone – “me or [the prime minister]” – allowing politics to get in the way of the looming Cop26 climate summit in Glasgow would be “abdicating responsibility”, after The Independent revealed that Downing Street has been strategising to stop Scotland’s first minister using the event as an “advert” for independence.
Holyrood health secretary denies Scotland’s NHS in crisis ahead of winter
Scotland’s NHS is facing the “most significant” challenge in its history as a result of the pandemic, Holyrood’s health secretary Humza Yousaf has said.
But with opposition parties hitting out a lengthening waiting lists after figures this week showed A&E waiting times at record lows, Mr Yousaf denied the health service was already in crisis ahead of winter.
MPs told to smarten up ahead of return to parliament after summer recess
MPs returning to the House of Commons this week following the summer recess have been instructed to smarten up their appearance, in a reminder that the days of Zooming in to parliament are over, reports Sabrina Johnson.
The advice represents a toughening up of the rules compared to the approach of the previous speaker, John Bercow, under whose guidance there was “no exact dress code” and typical business attire was considered merely a suggestion.
Sir Lindsay Hoyle’s new rules state that MPs’ appearance “should demonstrate respect for your constituents, for the house, and for the institution of parliament in the life of the nation”, adding: “Members are expected to wear business attire in and around the chamber.”
Raab’s popularity plunges among Tory members, poll suggests
Dominic Raab has gone from the third-most popular Cabinet member to one of those least approved of by Tory Party members, according to Conservative Home’s monthly poll – his net satisfaction rating dropping from 73 per cent to just 6.
The website called it “one of the biggest falls ever in our table – almost on the scale of Theresa May’s dizzying fall from top of the table into negative territory in the wake of the bungled 2017 election”.
Boris Johnson has slightly recovered from his dire display last month, rising by 10 points to 13 per cent.
Here’s more details from The Independent’s report revealing that No 10 has been plotting how to prevent Cop26 becoming an “advert” for Scottish independence.
Our economics editor Anna Isaac reports that WhatsApp messages showed it had been suggested that Boris Johnson should avoid sharing a platform with Nicola Sturgeon in the run-up to and during the event, and that he should “neutralise” her by including other devolved leaders where possible.
Meeting notes also record efforts to ensure that the union flag is displayed as much as possible.
In a crowded field, here’s one of the likely more eyebrow-raising quotes from today’s papers, courtesy of The Sunday Times.
The paper reports that the PM sees “solving” social care as a key part of his political legacy, alongside delivering Brexit and “levelling up” the economy.
The paper quoted someone who knows Mr Johnson well as saying: “Boris sees this as a big problem that he can tick off. He wants it high up on his Wikipedia page when he goes off to earn lots of money.”
Voices: Social care desperately needs more funding – but a sweeping tax increase isn’t the solution
Writing for Independent Voices, journalist Lauren Crosby Medlicott argues:“We don’t need tax raises for everyone, we need new, progressive tax reform to ensure that the poor and vulnerable don’t pay the price of the pandemic.”
“Individuals and families are struggling to get food on the table after suffering redundancies and reduced incomes as a result of Covid-induced disruption,” she writes.
“These are the people who will be hit most hard from an increase in taxes. Up to an extra £100 each year given to the taxman could dictate whether the heating is turned on when it’s cold outside.
“Those with higher salaries will only suffer a tiny dent in their lives – they won’t have to figure out how to eat, pay the rent and get warm.”
Sir Keir Starmer should ‘stop treating trade unions like the drunken uncle at the party’, former party chair says
Sir Keir Starmer has been advised to “stop treating the trade unions like the drunken uncle at the party” by the Corbyn-era Labour Party chair, Ian Lavery.
Amid a row over layoffs at the party’s headquarters, Mr Lavery told the PoliticsHome website that “trade unions are the keys to Downing Street, and are the way in which you can carry influence in the communities”.
A party source was quoted in the report as saying they work closely with their trade union affiliates, while a senior figure within the trade union movement suggested Labour “see unions as part of the solution”, adding: “I don’t detect a drifting to the right.”
Boris Johnson faces open warfare with his own party over National Insurance hike
Boris Johnson is facing increasingly open warfare from his own party over plans to hike National Insurance, our political editor Andrew Woodcock reports, pointing to warnings from Tory grandees such as John Major, Iain Duncan Smith and Philip Hammond.
Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg also sent a barely-veiled warning to the PM about the danger of breaching his 2019 manifesto promise not to raise NICs, income tax or VAT during this parliament.
Writing in the Sunday Express, the Leader of the Commons recalled George Bush Sr’s broken “read my lips” promise not to raise taxes, adding: “Voters remembered these words after President Bush had forgotten them.”
The idea that an abrupt departure from Afghanistan is the same thing as a clean break seems “at best naive and at worst wildly reckless”, a former MI6 chief has said.
“It is difficult to account for some of the decisions that have been taken,” Sir Alex Younger told Times Radio.
Brexit minister warns of ‘cold mistrust’ era with EU
David Frost, t Brexit minister, has warned of a long-term chill in relations between the UK and the European Union if agreed-upon trading arrangements governing Northern Ireland are not resolved.
David Frost said in a speech at the British-Irish Association in Oxford that the Northern Ireland Protocol needed “substantial and significant change”, adding: “The stakes are high, the arguments can be bitter.
“And I worry this process is capable of generating a sort of cold mistrust between us and the EU which could spread across the relationship.”
